Manufacture of expanded metal



4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENToR @M A. Mw

ATTORNEYS 6, 1932. H. K. BAKER MANUFACTURE OF EXPANDED METAL Filed April 19. 1929 Dec. 6, 1932. H. K. BAKER 1,890,173

l MANUFACTURE oF EXPANDED METAL Filed April 19, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 NH my @n -Hw l wg Dec. 6, 1932. H. K. BAKER 1,890,173

MANUFACTURE OF EXPANDED METAL Filed April 19. 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 mental Dw. 6, 1931 UNITE-D STATES PATENT OFFICE manna' x. um, oir na'raorr, moment murac'ruan oir mmm miran application ma apn is, im. semi in. man.

This invention relates to the manufacture of expanded metal'and has particular reference to the splitting and forming of blanks for expansion.

Generally considered the ob'ects of the invention include increasin t e economy with respect to the time an materia-ls employed in producin lath, increasing the life of the slitting mec anism and simplifying the construction vand of this character.

More specifically I contemplate theu'se of dies or width o the strands to be produced in the latli and thus rovide punches of eater strength and'l urabilit and permit the strands of the lath-to lie made of smaller width. The metal employed in producing a given size expanded sheet is thus materially reduced. v

I also contemplate the use of a single set of slitting punches in operating: more than once on a given area of .a blank in' order to produce spaced and staggered slits therein.

My invention also utilizes sets of forming dies mounted to reciprocate in the same ress members with the slittin punches and t ereby form ribs or grooves in the blanks which are conligured and arranged .to .facilitate opening out of the sheet during the expandin operation.

ow the foregoing together with otherobjects and advantages are obtained will be clear from a consideration of Vthefollowing description taken with the accompanying drawings which illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention and in which Fig-1 is an elevational view of a reciprocating press mechanism suitable for carrying out the method of the present invention, the

.view being taken from the feeding side Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view-taken as indicated by the line 2-2 of Fig.. 1

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the lower press member, certain of the parts vbeing broken away in order to show the' mounting ofthe punches therein ;y A

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken as indicated by the line 44. of Fig.v 3;

operation of apparatus.

iunches of two or more times the Fi 5 is aview similar to Fi 4 but taken' as in icated by the line 5--5`o Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a group of the slitting punches mounted in the lower press member;

Fig. 6a is a view of a punc es adapted to cooperate with bthe group illustrated in Fig. 6,I the view being similar to Fig. 6, but taken as indicated by the fline Gaf-6a of Fi 5;

Figs. 7 yand 8 are side and cuttin edge views .respectively of one of the s 'tting punches mounted 'in the `upper press member 'l Figs. l9 and 10 are vsimilar views of one of the slittin punches mounted in the lower press mem er;

Figs. 11 and 12i1lustrate details of the lcing members employed between certain o the punches; and

Figs. 13 and 14 are face and sectional views res ectively of my improved partiall slitted an formed blank, the latter being takensub stantiallyas indicated by the line 14f-14 on 13. eferrin now more particularly t the drawings t e upper andv lower press members are indicated by the reference characters 15 and 16 respectively, the upper one, 15, of which isl mounted to reciprocate on the vertical guide shafts 17 whichare arranged at the corners of the press.

Up er and lower slittin l18 anv 19 are mounted in t 15 and '16 res the press mem ed in their operative positions by means of the cooperating wedges 20 and 21 which are e press members ectively, the sets-for each of mounted in recesses extending transversely of the press. Adjusting bolts 22 are provided at the ends of the wed es in order to raise or lower the punches as esired. with adjusting bolts 30 serve to secure the wedges 20 and 21 in adjusted position.

, Thev unches 19 of the lower press member 16 (seelfig. 3) are arranged in groups spaced `from each other and overlying the.wedges 20' land 21., the groups being mounted in their spaced relation by means of the holder mem-- ber 23 having apertures adapted to receive the groups. .Aswill be seen'from inspection of dies or punches ers being adjustablysupportgroup -of the upper Wedge blocks '29- l y ycured in l 5, 6 and 9-to 12,;each oup of punches which isassociated with-t e lowerV being op 'tely 'angled or inclined with ret e direction of feedthru thea agai'.us.A l, Stacing members 25 rovi e tween ecutters or punches 19W ich'are rom vided with lugs 26 adapted to 'overlie an engge co-operatin shoulders provided on o posite sides of t e aperturesformed in t e slitting unch holder member 23. Each group w en assembled and positioned in its 15 aperture in the member 23 is rigidly secured in place by means of the adjusting bolt 27, the same; bein threaded into an edge of the mems `ber' 23 an bearing against the large edge of thewed ecutter24. l The 'tting punch holder member 23 is sepcsition by means of the bolts 28 which are tapped into the press member 16 at spaced intervals on either side of the wedges 20 and 21.

g5' pThe slitting punches associated withlthe -u er ress member 15 are arranged in grou s wilichltire complementary to those secured ih the lower press member and are securedin position by means of a slitting punch holder 31 which, 1n` all essential respects, is identical with the riexnlllaer 23 associiiltedwith the llower ou a group in t e upper set, owesenpdomprises a wedge32 (see Figs. 5, 6a, 7 -and 8) which terminatesshort of the cutting edges of the unches 18 arran ed on each 'side' thereof. It s ould be observe that three Apunches 18 aremounted on'either side of the .wedge 32 in each of theipperlgroupmthe same being inclined or an le sim' arly to .those in Athe lower groups an being held in spaced relation bymeans of 'the spacers 25 which are mounted in the holder member 31 in the same manner as the spacers associated with the` lower'groups. Adjusting 33 are also 'provided in this 'instance in order-to secure the groups of wedges 18 in their operative po`- sition and it might here be noted that the upper slitting punches 18 are provided with dou- 'ble tapered 'cutting surfaces 34l in order `to reduce distortion in slitting the '-Fi .2,7and8).'

. pper and lower stripper plates 35 and 36 Arespectively having openings adapted to pass -55 the punches in the upper .and lower` groups .are resiliently supported on eachof the press members by .means ofthe springs 37 l'as-most clearly illustrated' in Figs. 41 and 2. The stripper plates are restrained as against outward movement with respect to the present members with which they are associated by means of the brackets 38' which are suitably bolted to the press members and which are provided with lugs 39 which enga e over co- 05 operating shoulders formed at t e cut-out .adjusting mec blanks (seeA ,the press are' indicated at S at the to of Fig.

Vcorners of the and 3).

Beyond the slitting mechanism with respect to the direction of feed thru the ap-v paratus I have provided co-operating upper .l and lower swa Vng or forming dies indicated in' general by t e reference characters 40 and 41. respectively in Figs. 2 and 4. .The dies are provided with cooperatin workin surfaces 42, 43 and 44, 45 whic are a apted 75 to produce alternate rounded and angled grooves or ribs respectivel extending longitudinally of the b anks, t e same being arranged to project onopposite sides. That is,

plates 35 and 36 1 'all the rounded grooves project `on one side so .of the blanks while the angled grooves-projecton the'other. The formi/ ng dies 40 -and 41 are preferably made insections or pieces l(see Figs. 3 and 4) and are suitably secured to the pressmembers by means of thebolts 46.v 85

Stops 47 and 48 are secured to the upper and lower press members l5 and 16l respectively. The lower stopxs 48 may be provided with an anism indicated at 49 in Fig. 4 in order that the stroke .of the reciprocating iv be press member 15 may be suitably llmited.

Referrin now to Figs. 13 and 14 in'connection wit the others, particularly Nos.` 4, 6 and 6al it should be observed, to beginwith, thatthevgeneral type of'lath which the ap- L? paratus is particularly adapted to produce 1s, what is commonly referred to as high rib lath, i. e. a lath havingrelativelydeep ribs between the ex anded areas in order to'give the sheet rigi ity, in contradistinction to 'ACK' what is commonly termed flat rib lath whichhas relatively shallow beads between the expanded areas.` Thus, Vit will be lobserved, that the groups of slitting unches laccording to my invention arev re ativelyie;

4digs. 6 and 6a which clearly illustrate how D `the cuttin v.edges of the upperand lower slit-l '52515 ting punc es 18 and 19 respectively, coo crate when the upper' press member deseen s to produceI the grou of slits across the blanks. The slits pro -uced by one stroke of 13. Before the second stroke of t e press the blank is advanced by the feeding mechanism (not herein described) a distance just a little 'greater than half ofthe len th of the slittin edges of the punches 18 an 19.V The secon stroke 'of the press produces the slits indicated by the character S1 aiid it should be noted that the slitting punches are an led longitudinally of the sheet to an extent w'ich causes the overlapping sets of slits to fall mid- 4f l way between those produced b each immediately-preceding o ration. he slltting 1s carried out in the a ove4 manner throughout Y from. Thus the correlation between the inclination of the punches and the amount the blank is advanced r stroke of the press, determines the dimensmns of the connections or bonds between -the expanded strands of the completed lath.

As the blank advances thru the press it is engaged by the cooperating formin vdies 40 and 41 herein before. considered w ichsuccessivel swage the sheet to roduce the rounde beads B inthe relative y wide unslitted areas and the angled. rjtlioves G in the narrow unslitted strips exten between the reversely inclined slits of eac group. The arrangement and configuration of the unslitted areas and ribs will be clear from inspection of Fi s. `1? and 14, the relativelyv narrow unslitte Vstrips ust referred to being indicated b the re erence numeral 51. It 1s also to be o served at this point that the angled ooves G which are centered on the relative y narrow unslitted strips 51 are of s'uicient width to take in or include a portion of the slitted area at each side. The legs of the rooves G-V preferably extend approximate y at right angles to each other. The beads B and the rooves G are arran and configured asin icated in order to aciltate subsequent pre-opening and expanding o erations-such as are disclosed in my co-pen in application, Serial Number 357,643, file A ri1 24,1929.

e following advantages should be 'noted in connection with my improved method of and apparatus for preparing blanks for expanding purposes: x

Firstly, the arrangement and method of operating the slitting unches'includin the angular dis osition of) the 4un'ches an the mannerofl eed of the blau s therethrough, permit the use of relatively thick and therefore rugged punches in producing a lath having strands of a givenwidth. To be more exact the slitting punches are ap roximately double the width of the strands tolbe reduced thereby. This feature is particular y advantageous, as will be understoodby those skilled in the art, in view of the fact that Iconsiderable diiculty has been encountered vheretofore in providing punches, for lath having relatively narrow lor even average strands, which would not rupture or warp after a relatively short period of use. Very narrow punches, obviously, are not satisfactory from a commercial or practical standpoint for the reason that, even' if made of the finest steel, they are too thin and/.weak to hold up under the heavy 'strains to which they are subjected. v .A

Secondly, and as a corolla to the advantage just noted, the double wi th punches and the method of o rating the same permit the manufacture of ath having narrower strands than was possible heretofore, with the .result that considerable material may be saved in the manufacture of an expanded sheet of given dimensions. This e ects a ver material economy in certain of the lie ds 1n which metal-lath is'used which do not re# quire a particularly heavy finished product although itis to be understood that such lath,

when the unslitted areas 50 are suitably folded or rolled into relativel deep ribs, has suflicient rigidity and strengt for all normal uses. i

Thirdly, the blanks roduced by the method and apparatus disc osed herein are ribbed lin such a manner as to greatly facilitate a .operation by a reduc-v w subsequent expanding tion in the strains to ich the strands are *sulected during the expandin inally it should be observe that the ar.1 rangement and lmounting of the slitting punches and forming dies is not only very rugged, but also easily accessible for purposes of inspection or repair. v

.While I have described my invention in connection with the particular embodiment `illustrated in the drawings, I do not wish to limit myself to the exact number and arrangement of punches and forming dies in view of the fact that these may be altered somewhat w'ithout departing from the vspirit or scope of the invention. l

It should be noted that the apparatus herein disclosed is also disclosedand claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 538,924, filed May 21st, 1931.

What I claim is '1.b In a method for slitt' metallic blanks for expansion into strande lath the ste of forming groups of parallel slits in. e blank, the slits of one group being reversely inclined with respect to the slits of another group, and subsequently forming similar groups of parallelfand reversely inclined slits at least partially within the area of. the blank first slitted, the slits of the second groups bein extended between and parallel to slits of t e first groups'.

2. In a method for slitting metallic blanks group, to provide relatively wide strands,

4 i,eeo,iva

and subsequentlyproducin ,similar groups of parallel andreversely ine ined slits at least artially within the boundaries of the groups slitted, the slits of the second groups be- 5 ing extended between slits of the first groups and being parallelthereto, whereby the relatively wide stradsare divided into relatively narrow strands.

4. In a methodfor slittingmetallicA blanks m for expansion -into lath having strands of a predetermined width; the hsteps of reducing a group ofparallel slits with eir ends p substantially in ali ent with each other to rovide'a group o relatively wide strands an subsequently producing .an additional and similar-group of slits the individual slits of which are parallel to and extend between slits of the first group, whereb 'said relatively wide strands .are divide into 20 strands ofsaidepredetermined width.

` 5. In the' manufacture ofexpanded meshwork sheets from meta1lic.blanksthe 'steps of producing, in longitudinally extending` areas of the'blanks, oupsof parallel but diagonally extended ts spaced apart from each other a distance greaterthanthe 'width of the strands to'be produced, the slits in one longitudinally extending area ofthe blank being diagonally extended in an opposite di- 3'0 rection from the slits inan adjacent longitudinally extended area,- suecessively forming similarand additional agili-loups of slits in said longitudinally exten g areas an'd with the slits of each successive oup in each area extended between and para el to slits of the immediately preceding group, in order to divide or cut the strips` of metal lying between slits of the receding up, and thus produce strands the desir predetermined -io width; and v'aul'isequently subjecting the slitted sheetsto an expandin operation.

- 6. In a -method for* manu acturing lathing having strands'of a predetermined width from blank sheets,fthe steps of .producin S4'5 groups of parallel slits in the sheets spac om each other a-distance greater than the predetermined width -Of'the Strands' to be produced, to l'ovide `groups of relatively wide strands, e slits o fone group being in- `50 clined toppositely with respect to the'slits of an ad'acent'group sub y ueiitly yproducin additiimal and similar,y gsfgu s of slits-in thge sheets, the individual shts' 0 4which are par. allel to and'extendhetween slits of the first i" groups, wherebysfaid relatively wide strands are divided into strands of said predetermined width,. and 'then subjecting the slitted sheets to an-expanding operation.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

HERBERT K. BAKER. 

